Born: April 15, 1894 Birth Place: Chattanooga, Tennessee Known for: Greatest Classic Blues singer of the 1920’s Died: September 26, 1937
Bessie Smith, an African American, was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee to a poor family living in depressed conditions. Her mother and father lived in this one room shack with their eight children. (2) Unfortunately, her father, a Baptist minister, died when she was an infant and her mother along with two brothers died when she was nine. Therefore, her older sister became responsible for her and they moved into the Tannery Flats trying to make ends meet.
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When her brother Clarence returned to town with a minstrel group he had joined, he noticed his sister’s talent for singing during amateur night and introduced her to Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, known as the Mother of the Blues, who was touring with the musical group. (3) This helped Bessie develop her talent for the Blues through performing as a regular on stage at the “81” Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. She then moved into the area of vaudeville, which gave her more exposure and increased her fans in the South and eastern coast. (2) In 1923, Bessie was given the opportunity by Columbia records to record her hits “Gulf Coast Blues” and “Down Heart Blues”. Bessie went on to record more than 160 songs between 1923 and 1933 while earning the title, “greatest classic Blues singer of the 1920’s”. (1) Over her successful years, she recorded songs with many other Jazz musicians, such as Louis Armstrong and James P. Johnson. She
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became known as the "Empress of the Blues.”
As the Depression began and the style of music started to change, Bessie needed to continue as a stage performer because record artists felt she was out of date. (4) During this time, she was developing a new style to return her to fame and was focusing on Swing, but she was unfortunately killed in an automobile accident on September 26, 1937. (2) She was taken to a hospital, but bled to death. Unfortunately, she never was able to record her swing music, but she did get to sing with Count Basie.
Born: April 15, 1894
Birth Place: Chattanooga, Tennessee
Known for: Greatest Classic Blues singer of the 1920’s
Died: September 26, 1937
Bessie Smith, an African American, was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee to a poor family living in depressed conditions. Her mother and father lived in this one room shack with their eight children. (2) Unfortunately, her father, a Baptist minister, died when she was an infant and her mother along with two brothers died when she was nine. Therefore, her older sister became responsible for her and they moved into the Tannery Flats trying to make ends meet.
As the Depression began and the style of music started to change, Bessie needed to continue as a stage performer because record artists felt she was out of date. (4) During this time, she was developing a new style to return her to fame and was focusing on Swing, but she was unfortunately killed in an automobile accident on September 26, 1937. (2) She was taken to a hospital, but bled to death. Unfortunately, she never was able to record her swing music, but she did get to sing with Count Basie.
Works Consulted
1. Alexander, Scott. "Bessie Smith (1895-1937)." Redhotjazz.com. Red Hot Jazz. 4 Mar 2008 <http://www.redhotjazz.com/Bessie.html>.
2. Baughman, Judith S. American Decades: 1920 - 1929. New York : Gale Research, 1996.
3. "Bessie Smith." Who2. 7 Mar. 2008 <http://who2.com/ask/bessiesmith.html >.
4."Empress of the Blues: Bessie Smith." 7 Mar. 2008 <http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG97/blues/bsa.html>.